Henry Street Makes History (with a $360K Grant from NEH)!
By Henry Street Settlement
Henry Street Settlement’s legacy will come alive for local and international audiences, thanks to a competitive grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). This rare award of precious humanities dollars to a social service agency recognizes the historical significance of Henry Street and the Settlement house movement in New York City.
The Settlement will receive $360,000 to support The House on Henry Street: Settlements, Public Health and Social Reform. This extraordinary multi-platform project will explore social activism, urban poverty and public health through the lens of Henry Street’s history. Its centerpiece will be a permanent interactive exhibition in the Settlement’s c. 1830 landmarked headquarters at 265 Henry Street. A web-based exhibition with curriculum materials for high school and college teachers will deepen the interpretation, and a walking tour app for mobile devices will take the story to the streets of the Lower East Side. In addition to the exhibition on the first floor, the entire headquarters – the historic dining room, Lillian Wald’s original bedroom, the garden and nurses’ dorm rooms – will be labeled and interpreted, enabling visitors to not only learn the Settlement’s history, but also to tour the modern-day working social service agency. A public historian will be hired for 18 months, and will create public programs of interest to the Settlement community, one that has traditionally lacked access lacks to the humanities, and others.
The project will be the centerpiece of Henry Street’s 125th anniversary which the Settlement will celebrate in 2018.
“We are grateful to the National Endowment for the Humanities for supporting this important project,” said David Garza, Executive Director of Henry Street. “This is a wonderful way to honor our venerable history during our Quasquicentennial year and beyond.”
Other institutions awarded a grant in the same category (Implementation – Exhibitions) are Walker Art Center, University of Alaska, Heard Museum, and University of Pennsylvania.
In making the announcement on March 29, 2017, Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY-07), said, “Henry Street Settlement is an important community anchor in the Lower East Side, providing a place for residents to seek support and connect with one another,” said Velázquez. “I have had the pleasure to work with Henry Street over the years when they’ve hosted town halls, facilitated summer employment programs for students, and organized the community to rally around shared goals.
“Henry Street has a long track record of expanding educational opportunity in our neighborhood and this grant will help further that mission.”
